No Arabic abstract
How to manage various data in a unified way is a significant research topic in the field of databases. To address this problem, researchers have proposed multi-model databases to support multiple data models in a uniform platform with a single unified query language. However, since relational databases are predominant in the current market, it is expensive to replace them with others. Besides, due to the theories and technologies of RDBMSs having been enhanced over decades, it is hard to use few years to develop a multi-model database that can be compared with existing RDBMSs in handling security, query optimization, transaction management, etc. In this paper, we reconsider employing relational databases to store and query multi-model data. Unfortunately, the mismatch between the complexity of multi-model data structure and the simplicity of flat relational tables makes this difficult. Against this challenge, we utilize the reinforcement learning (RL) method to learn a relational schema by interacting with an RDBMS. Instead of using the classic Q-learning algorithm, we propose a variant Q-learning algorithm, called textit{Double Q-tables}, to reduce the dimension of the original Q-table and improve learning efficiency. Experimental results show that our approach could learn a relational schema outperforming the existing multi-model storage schema in terms of query time and space consumption.
Considering relational databases having powerful capabilities in handling security, user authentication, query optimization, etc., several commercial and academic frameworks reuse relational databases to store and query semi-structured data (e.g., XML, JSON) or graph data (e.g., RDF, property graph). However, these works concentrate on managing one of the above data models with RDBMSs. That is, it does not exploit the underlying tools to automatically generate the relational schema for storing multi-model data. In this demonstration, we present a novel reinforcement learning-based tool called MORTAL. Specifically, given multi-model data containing different data models and a set of queries, it could automatically design a relational schema to store these data while having a great query performance. To demonstrate it clearly, we are centered around the following modules: generating initial state based on loaded multi-model data, influencing learning process by setting parameters, controlling generated relational schema through providing semantic constraints, improving the query performance of relational schema by specifying queries, and a highly interactive interface for showing query performance and storage consumption when users adjust the generated relational schema.
The goals of Learning Analytics (LA) are manifold, among which helping students to understand their academic progress and improving their learning process, which are at the core of our work. To reach this goal, LA relies on educational data: students traces of activities on VLE, or academic, socio-demographic information, information about teachers, pedagogical resources, curricula, etc. The data sources that contain such information are multiple and diverse. Data mining, specifically pattern mining, aims at extracting valuable and understandable information from large datasets. In our work, we assume that multiple educational data sources form a rich dataset that can result in valuable patterns. Mining such data is thus a promising way to reach the goal of helping students. However, heterogeneity and interdependency within data lead to high computational complexity. We thus aim at designing low complex pattern mining algorithms that mine multi-source data, taking into consideration the dependency and heterogeneity among sources. The patterns formed are meaningful and interpretable, they can thus be directly used for students.
Model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL) is widely seen as having the potential to be significantly more sample efficient than model-free RL. However, research in model-based RL has not been very standardized. It is fairly common for authors to experiment with self-designed environments, and there are several separate lines of research, which are sometimes closed-sourced or not reproducible. Accordingly, it is an open question how these various existing MBRL algorithms perform relative to each other. To facilitate research in MBRL, in this paper we gather a wide collection of MBRL algorithms and propose over 18 benchmarking environments specially designed for MBRL. We benchmark these algorithms with unified problem settings, including noisy environments. Beyond cataloguing performance, we explore and unify the underlying algorithmic differences across MBRL algorithms. We characterize three key research challenges for future MBRL research: the dynamics bottleneck, the planning horizon dilemma, and the early-termination dilemma. Finally, to maximally facilitate future research on MBRL, we open-source our benchmark in http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~tingwuwang/mbrl.html.
We introduce a novel method to train agents of reinforcement learning (RL) by sharing knowledge in a way similar to the concept of using a book. The recorded information in the form of a book is the main means by which humans learn knowledge. Nevertheless, the conventional deep RL methods have mainly focused either on experiential learning where the agent learns through interactions with the environment from the start or on imitation learning that tries to mimic the teacher. Contrary to these, our proposed book learning shares key information among different agents in a book-like manner by delving into the following two characteristic features: (1) By defining the linguistic function, input states can be clustered semantically into a relatively small number of core clusters, which are forwarded to other RL agents in a prescribed manner. (2) By defining state priorities and the contents for recording, core experiences can be selected and stored in a small container. We call this container as `BOOK. Our method learns hundreds to thousand times faster than the conventional methods by learning only a handful of core cluster information, which shows that deep RL agents can effectively learn through the shared knowledge from other agents.
Data cleaning is the initial stage of any machine learning project and is one of the most critical processes in data analysis. It is a critical step in ensuring that the dataset is devoid of incorrect or erroneous data. It can be done manually with data wrangling tools, or it can be completed automatically with a computer program. Data cleaning entails a slew of procedures that, once done, make the data ready for analysis. Given its significance in numerous fields, there is a growing interest in the development of efficient and effective data cleaning frameworks. In this survey, some of the most recent advancements of data cleaning approaches are examined for their effectiveness and the future research directions are suggested to close the gap in each of the methods.